


White ink on black paper

by Gilrael



Category: Haikyuu!!, Krabat | The Satanic Mill - Otfried Preußler
Genre: Alternate Universe, Daichi is basically Krabat, Death, Fantasy, Krabat is a really fucking dark children's book, Krabat without death is like Haikyuu!! without volleyball, M/M, Magic, Suga is the Kantorka, i'm sorry in advance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-25 04:38:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6180454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilrael/pseuds/Gilrael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The people of Schwarzkollm avoid the mill and its inhabitants at all cost, but Daichi ignores their warnings. He starts an apprenticeship with the miller and soon finds himself in a world full of ravens, dark magic and death from which he cannot escape. His only hope is the beautiful singer from the village, but they can't even know each others' names or the miller will kill them both.</p><p>____</p><p>The Haikyuu!!/Krabat crossover nobody asked for. No prior knowledge of Krabat is needed to read this!</p><p>Currently on hiatus until I figure some more stuff out, or else this will become an unreadable mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The mill at the Black Water

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna cry writing this ;_; but I have to do it, or else the idea will haunt me forever. Don't know how often I'll update, though, because I have a couple of term papers due soon.  
> I suggest listening to ASP's album Zaubererbruder. Their version of the story is so much sadder, but the music is beautiful and really fits the story.

The first days of the year had started out well. Daichi and his friends had managed to earn their food by singing traditional songs to welcome the new year. Well, Daichi and Yachi had sung and Hinata had played on his self-made drum, because his voice was still squeaky and breaking at odd times. To them these had been some of the best days of the winter, although it was colder than usual. The people were generous and seemed to enjoy their singing, so the cold didn't matter very much. At night they usually found a farm where they could sleep in the stables and keep warm in the hay next to the animals.

Honestly, life had not been this enjoyable since Daichi had left his home town behind after the death of his parents. Teaming up with Hinata and Yachi, he'd found something like a new family. Hinata was as excitable as Yachi was timid and both of them looked up to him like he was their older brother. He'd become used to all of it – the chatter, the laughter and the warmth.

Life was fine, but it could've been better. On a daily basis Daichi noticed that Yachi's coat was fraying at the seems; Hinata's gloves had holes and so did Daichi's boots. It was easy to find food and places to warm up at night, but finding affordable clothes that would keep them warm for the rest of the winter was near impossible. If one of them would get sick, they'd never be able to pay a doctor.

Daichi was turning all of these things over in his head, as they settled down in a stable for the night. He was the one in charge of rationing their food and money, so they'd have enough for when times got rougher. Hinata was too much of a glutton and Yachi too easily persuaded by him to give him more than was wise. Sometimes he wondered how the two of them had survived before he'd shown up.

“I haven't had gingerbread in years!” Hinata exclaimed, when Daichi gave him his piece. The farmer's wife had given it to them after they'd sung for her and her family.

“It's really good,” Yachi agreed. Smiling, Daichi leaned back and listened to their conversation while he enjoyed his own share of the sweet treat. He was too tired to talk and soon the familiar sound of his friends' voices lulled him to sleep.

 

_Eleven ravens were staring at Daichi. They were sitting on a bar, neatly lined up and leaving a little space at one end of it. In front of them was a human skull with a red candle stuck to it, bathing the birds in a flickering light._

“ _Daichi.”_

_The voice sounded eerie and distant._

“ _Daichi.”_

_There was a quality to it that made his skin crawl and the blood in his veins freeze._

“ _Come to the mill in Schwarzkollm, you won't regret it.”_

_Dachi had no idea who was speaking, but he got the feeling that disobeying him was not an option._

_As if on cue the ravens opened their beaks, cawing, “Obey the Master's voice! Obey!”_

 

Daichi woke with a start. Next to him Yachi and Hinata were sleeping peacefully. There were no ravens in sight. Blinking, he got up and brushed off the hay that clung to his cloak.

The Masters' voice was still echoing in his mind, repeating its order to go to Schwarzkollm. Without actually wanting to do so, Daichi stepped toward the stable door. It was with great effort that he refrained from pushing it open.

Why was he doing this? He couldn't leave Hinata and Yachi behind.

“ _Daichi!”_

But he had to go! He turned around to look at their sleeping forms. Well, the least he could do was leave all the money and food with them. He removed all of it from his bag and placed it on the floor next to Yachi. For the first time in his life Daichi wished to be able to write. He wanted to say goodbye to them, but he couldn't wake them up. If he did, they'd want to follow him. And that was clearly a bad idea. Following this voice was a terrible idea and he knew it. Still he felt like he had to. He had to obey.

Sighing, he pushed open the door and stepped outside.

He'd never heard of Schwarkollm, but his feet carried him forward without his command. Daichi was scared, but there seemed to be no way to stop, not even when he reached the forest of Hoyarswerda and started stumbling through the frozen undergrowth for hours and hours. His feet felt numb, not just from the constant movement, but also because water was seeping through the holes in his boots.

Again and again the voice called out his name until he suddenly reached a road. Daichi heaved a sigh of relief, when his feet started following the dry path towards a small village. He felt like he was getting closer to his destination, but he couldn't make out a mill between the timbered houses.

Still, the disembodied voice seemed so much clearer here. Forcefully, he stopped his movements in the middle of the square. He needed to know if this was actually Schwarzkollm or not.

“Excuse me, sir,” Daichi said to an old man who was passing by. “Is this Schwarzkollm?”

The man nodded, a frown plastered to his face. “Yes.”

“Could you tell me the way to the mill?”

The villager looked at him like he was crazy. “We don't have a mill,” he replied gruffly, but then realisation seemed to dawn on him. “Are... are you talking about the mill at the Black Water?”

“Probably.”

Making the sign of the cross, the man turned his face away from Daichi. “Just follow the Black water into the Koselbruch,” he said, pointing at the small river that ran through the middle of the village. “But I'd suggest you stay away from the mill. There is something... sinister about it.”

Daichi just smiled and thanked him for his help. He didn't have a choice but to go there, so he followed the river back into the forest.

The sun was setting, when Daichi reached a clearing in the Koselbruch. Like a wild animal the mill was crouching in the snow, waiting for its prey.

The voice stopped calling out to him.

Daichi had arrived at his destination.

Slowly, he approached the door. Holding his breath he knocked, but received no answer. Carefully, he pushed against it and found it open. Inside he was greeted by darkness.

“Is anyone there?” he asked quietly, not brave enough to speak loudly. Once again there was only silence, but he noticed light coming through a crack in the door at the end of the hallway. Peering inside, he saw a man hunched over a huge tome. His skin was pale, his clothing dark and his left eye covered with a black patch. The other one was dark and fixed on the white words written on the black pages of his book.

Daichi had a terrible feeling about this.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder. Surprised, he whipped around only to see the man standing right behind him. Daichi had no idea how he'd managed to get behind him.

“I am the Master,” the man said. Daichi knew his voice; it had been haunting him all day. “You can become my apprentice; I need a new one. You want to, don't you?”

“I do.” Daichi's mouth was moving on its own, before he actually understood what the Master was offering him.

“What should I teach you? How to be a miller? Or do you want to know everything else?”

“Everything,” Daichi replied breathlessly.

“Let's shake hands on it.” The Master held out his left hand and Daichi took it, feeling like he was making a deal with the devil.

“The mill!” the Master yelled. “It's turning again!”


	2. Hard work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm procrastinating on writing my term papers by continuing this fanfic... *sighs* The first couple of chapters will be very close to the book, but you can expect deviations later on.

Resolutely, the miller ushered Daichi upstairs. Directly under the mill's roof there was a chamber for the apprentices. On both sides of the room there were six beds and lockers and all of them looked like they had recently been in use, except for one at the far end of the room. A bunch of clothes were lying on top of it, neatly folded.

“This is your bed and these are your clothes,” the Master said before leaving Daichi alone in the near darkness.

This was probably the strangest thing that had ever happened to Daichi. This morning he had been a beggar, but now here he was, a miller's apprentice.

He took a good look at the clothes. They were worn, but in great condition and the shoes that stood next to the bed didn't have any holes in them. No more cold feet, he thought and started undressing. When he pulled on his new clothes, he noticed that they fit him perfectly. For some reason that made Daichi feel extremely uncomfortable. But he wouldn't complain. He hadn't had clothes this nice since he'd become an orphan.

Tiredly, he fell down on the bed.

What a day, he mused before drifting off to sleep.

 

Daichi was woken by the sound of footsteps and unfamiliar voices. Eleven young men had gathered around his bed. Their faces were so pale that for a second Daichi thought they were ghosts. When they noticed that he was awake, one of them stepped forward. He was tall, his hair cropped extremely short and he had an intimidating look on his face.

“So you're the new one, huh?” he asked, holding up a lantern, so he could see Daichi's face better.

“Um... Yes? Who are you?” Daichi mumbled, twisting his fingers into the thin sheets of his new bed. These guys looked like they wouldn't hesitate to rough him up if he stepped out of line.

“Hah! Don't be scared!” the tall one said. His face was suddenly lit up by a smile that made him seem more goofy than scary. Daichi wasn't sure what he should make of the sudden change.

“My name's Tanaka, I'm the senior journeyman here,” the guy introduced himself. “And these are the other apprentices.” Tanaka listed off their names, but Daichi was barely able to remember half of them. He was still too sleepy and kinda overwhelmed with this new situation. At least he noticed that the others appeared to show more curiosity than hostility towards him.

“Well, you should catch some shut eye. Tomorrow's gonna be one hell of a day for you,” the senior journeyman said. With that everyone went to settle down in their beds. A simple “goodnight” and then Tanaka extinguished the lantern, engulfing all of them in darkness.

 

Breakfast was a rather lively affair. Everyone was talking while eating their porridge and drinking their milk. Daichi couldn't believe that he was allowed to eat as much as he wanted. It seemed like the mill hadn't been affected by the war at all. Or at least it had recovered from it much faster than all the other businesses in the region.

And the food was good, nothing like the stale bread and old cheese he'd had to make do with when he was still earning a living by going from door to door and singing. Maybe this hadn't been as bad an idea as he initially thought.

Tanaka sat down next to Daichi. “I hope we didn't scare you too much last night.”

“Nah, I was just a little surprised,” Daichi said, helping himself to another bowl of porridge. “The food is great!”

“Ennoshita will be glad to hear that.”

There was one thing, though, that still bothered him immensely. “Can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead,” Tanaka said.

“Whose clothes are these?”

Suddenly, the entire room went silent. Everyone set down their spoons and lowered their heads. A strained look appeared on Tanaka's face.

“Uh... Sorry? Did I say something wrong?” Daichi felt like he'd just put his foot so far down his mouth that he was going to choke on it.

“Uh... Not really,” Tanaka muttered. “They belonged to your predecessor.”

“Oh.” Then why did they react so weird? “Did he... did he finish his apprenticeship?”

“Yes. You could say that,” Tanaka said, but he wouldn't meet Daichi's eyes anymore.

What the hell was going on here?

But before Daichi could ask any more questions, the Master burst into the kitchen and came to stand in front of Daichi.

“Stop the chitchat!” he shouted angrily. “Those who ask too many questions are the ones at fault! Repeat!”

“Those who ask too many questions are the ones at fault,” Daichi stammered with wide eyes.

“Good! Now everyone get to work! Immediately!” the miller bellowed. “Daichi, follow me.”

Daichi set down his bowl and got up without question. Disobeying the Master was not an option. If he didn't follow his orders, Daichi would probably be thrown out again and he didn't want to risk that yet.

He was led into a small chamber that was coated in a thin dusting of flour.

“Sweep out this room,” the Master said, pointing at a broom and closing the door behind Daichi with a bang.

This had to be a bad joke. Daichi picked up a broom, but he already knew this was going to be futile. Every time he moved the broom across the floor a huge cloud of flour surrounded him and slowly drifted back to the ground. By the time he had cleaned one side of the room the other was covered in flour again. But Daichi didn't stop. He couldn't give up now. Not on the first day.

He looked around the room, trying to think of a solution to his problem. Maybe if he opened the window... But it was barred. So he tried to open the door... and found it locked. Now he knew why Tanaka had said that this was going to be one hell of a day.

Groaning, Daichi went back to work. Flour mixed with sweat on his skin, making him feel icky and uncomfortable. This was not what he'd expected out of an apprenticeship at a mill.

When the door opened to reveal Tanaka, Daichi was close to tears.

“Look at you, all covered in flour,” the older boy said, smiling, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. “Don't worry, everyone has problems with this in the beginning.”

He lead Daichi out of the room and turned his back to him. Then he said unfamiliar words and wrote something in the air with his fingers. And as if on cue all the dust cleared out of the room and floated outside.

“What– How did you do that?” Daichi asked incredulously, but Tanaka never gave him an answer.

“Come on. Ennoshita probably has lunch ready for us,” he said instead.

 

Working at the mill was hard. They worked every single day of the week, from dusk till dawn. Only on Fridays did they finish work early and on Saturday they'd get up two hours later than usual. The mill had seven sets of grinding stones, six of which were running every day. The other boys referred to the seventh set as the Dead Stones. In the beginning, Daichi thought that some part of the mechanism had to be broken, but nobody ever seemed to bother fixing it. He was curious, but he knew better than to ask questions.

This was mostly due to Oikawa. Daichi had had a bad feeling about the guy right from the beginning. He was over the top, looked down on everyone, even Tanaka who everyone else looked up to despite his goofy side, and he was the type to snitch on the other boys. If Daichi had asked too many questions Oikawa would've surely told the Master, and that would've had severe consequences.

Other than that, he got along great with his fellow apprentices. Besides Tanaka and Oikawa there were also Noya and Asahi, an odd duo of polar opposites. Noya was small and energetic, while Asahi was tall and shy. Tsukishima always seemed bored and hung out with Yamaguchi a lot, who basically hung on every word his best friend said. Iwaizumi was the only one who had some kind of handle on Oikawa and somehow managed to keep the guy in line. Kageyama was a little awkward and had trouble fitting in with the others, but deep down he seemed to be a good guy. Kinoshita and Narita were diligent workers, but never seemed to stand out much. And then there was Ennoshita.

Daichi didn't really know what to think of Ennoshita. He was in charge of all the household chores, because everyone said that he was too stupid to be a miller and that it was only a matter of time until he would accidentally hurt himself during work. Ennoshita never said anything to discourage the others from saying so and he always laughed with them when they made their jokes about him, but Daichi couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to him. Not counting Tanaka, he'd been at the mill the longest and he was just as kind as their senior journeyman.

Both of them did their best to help out Daichi wherever they could. When Daichi was already tired and in pain before it was even time for lunch, Tanaka would put one hand on his shoulder and suddenly all the pain and fatigue was gone. When it was Daichi's turn to help out in the kitchen by carrying coals and wood for the stove, Ennoshita would always give him treats like apples or an extra piece of bread. If it weren't for the two of them, Daichi would've given up after a couple of days.

But the better he got to know the others, the more obvious it became that they were keeping something from him. They never talked about the guy that used to sleep in Daichi's bed and wear Daichi's clothes and on Friday nights they all seemed to disappear without a trace.

 

_There was fire everywhere around Daichi. His friends were rushing to get water from the mill pond and he wanted to help them, but he was rooted to the spot. All he could do was stare at the flames, while they consumed the mill._

 

Opening his eyes, Daichi realised that there were no flames and that he was lying in his bed. Groggily he sat up and looked around. It was the middle of the night, but all the beds were empty. But there were noises downstairs and outside. Curiously, Daichi went to look out the small window. For the first time he saw an unfamiliar face at the mill. Never before had he ever seen someone bringing in grain for grinding, it was always just there. Now there was a carriage standing in front of the mill and the other boys were busy unloading one sack after another and carrying them inside to the grinding stones, while a stranger sat on the coach box and cracked his whip over their heads. As if this wasn't weird enough, even the Master was helping them unload. Usually, the miller wouldn't lift a finger to help them, but there he was, carrying the sacks of grain insode.

And then Daichi heard an unusual sound. It was similar to the noise of the grinding stones, but also very different. It took a while until he realised that they were probably using the Dead Stones. Daichi didn't know what to make of this. He just stood there and watched as his fellow miller's apprentices carried sacks of flour back to the carriage.

When they came back to the chamber, Daichi stared at them with wide eyes. They looked like death incarnate.

“Why didn't you wake me? I could've helped!” he insisted.

“Shut up and go back to sleep,” Narita grumbled and flopped down on his bed.

“Yeah, just sleep and don't ask questions, please,” Tanaka added, unusually unfriendly.

“I fucking hate new moon nights,” Iwaizumi complained and then nobody said anything anymore.

 

The next day, Daichi went to the Dead Stones. He was curious if they'd actually been in use yesterday. Usually, grain would be lying around on the floor after the grinding stones had been used.

But there was no grain. Instead there were these white pebbles that under closer examination turned out to be teeth and broken bones.

“Holy shit,” Daichi whispered. What the fuck was going on here? Quickly, he turned around and immediately ran into Tanaka, who had been standing behind him.

“What... What is this?!” Daichi demanded to know, but Tanaka only looked at him with pity in his eyes.

“Forget it. Don't think about it. You'll find out soon enough and then you'll wish you never knew.”


	3. Brotherhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done with one of the two term papers I'm writing, so I had some time to spare and ended up writing this chapter...

“ _But I'd suggest you stay away from the mill. There is something... sinister about it.”_

Over and over again the warning he had received from the old villager echoed in Daichi's mind. He thought about it whenever he walked past the Dead Stones or when his colleagues vanished on Friday nights or when Tanaka restored his energy during work.

“ _What should I teach you? How to be a miller? Or do you want to know everything else?”_

So far the Master had only fulfilled one part of their agreement. Apart from his duties as a miller, Daichi knew about nothing else that went on at the mill and he was clearly forbidden from asking. Sometimes it kept him up at night, but most of the time he was too exhausted to think about anything.

Good Friday was one of the times when Daichi was so tired he fell down on his bed like a stone. He didn't care that none of his friends was there or that he'd had to work instead of observing the holiday. He'd never had much of an interest in religion anyway. So he closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately...

 

“ _Daichi!”_

_Eleven ravens were staring at him._

“ _Obey!” they cawed._

 

There it was again, that feeling that had driven Daichi to come to the mill in the first place. His eyes snapped open and without further thought he got out of bed, pulled on his shoes and stumbled downstairs into the Master's chamber. Everyone was gathered there.

The Master was sitting behind his desk and the apprentices and journeyman were standing around the skull and candle. Daichi's eyes were instantly drawn to the black tome and the white words that were written in it, although he didn't know how to read.

“Come here, Daichi,” the Master said. He wasn't as pale as on the day Daichi had met him. He looked healthy. Carefully, Daichi stepped forward, but the miller's attention was now focused on the others.

“Shoo!” he said, pointing at a metal bar on the opposite side of the room. Suddenly, the young men vanished and in their place a flock of ravens fluttered into the air only to sit down on the bar, neatly lined up and leaving a little space at the end of it.

“It's been a quarter of a year, Daichi,” the Master said calmly, turning his face back to his newest apprentice. “Your time of probation is over. You are an apprentice and now you shall also become a student.”

He stood up and touched Daichi's left shoulder with his left hand. A prickling feeling spread through Daichi's body and he felt himself grow smaller. His clothes vanished and feathers burst from his skin instead. He was turning into a raven, sitting on the floor in front of the desk.

“Shoo!” The Master clapped his hands. Haltingly, Daichi spread his wings. Flying felt incredibly weird, but also exhilarating. He circled once around the room before landing next to the others in the space they had left for him on the bar.

The Master settled back down in his chair, his black eye fixed on Daichi.

“Surely, you must have heard of the Black Schools. This mill is one of them. Here you will not learn how to read, write and calculate. No, this is a school for the dark arts. This book in front of me is the Koraktor. It holds every spell in existence and I am the only one who is allowed to read from it, because I am the Master. But every Friday night, I will read from it, so you might learn something. Under no circumstance is anyone else allowed to open the book. Understood?”

“Understood,” Daichi cawed, surprised that he had retained his ability to speak, even if he sounded hoarse. He had indeed heard of Black Schools, but never thought that they actually existed. To him they'd been nothing more than an old wives tale, something that people used to scare their children into staying away from the forests.

And now here he was, listening to the Master reading from the Koraktor. From what Daichi gathered, it was a spell that would make a well run dry forever. The Master repeated it twice and then pointed at one of the ravens, ordering him to repeat what he'd said.

“This is the art of making a well run dry...” the student said, slowly. After he finished, the Master pointed at the next student and then at someone else... Daichi listened to them, astounded that he was able to recognise their voices, although they all sounded so different from usual. Ennoshita was the easiest to recognise, though, because he barely managed to repeat the spell and stumbled over every other word. Daichi didn't fare any better, when his turn came along. He'd never had to remember something this fast and he'd been too distracted by having been turned into a raven.

The Master looked at him, his face completely devoid of emotion.

“Next time, you should pay better attention to the words, Daichi,” he said coldly. “I will not force you to learn anything, but it is in your best interest to pay attention.”

With these words he ended the lesson and Daichi turned back into a human being. He stared down at his hands in wonder. This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to Daichi in his entire life.

“Let's get going,” Tanaka whispered, placing a hand on Daichi's shoulder and leading him out of the chamber.

“Is this why you know how to chase away exhaustion?” Daichi asked incredulously as they climbed up the stairs.

“Yes. You'll learn how to do it yourself soon. But we need to sleep now.”

 

The next day after breakfast, everyone went back upstairs. Apparently, they wouldn't have to work, so the apprentices took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Daichi followed their lead, after he heard Asahi saying something about an Easter vigil. It seemed weird to Daichi that they'd follow such a tradition when they'd ignored every other religious tradition, like not working on Sundays and not eating meat during lent.

They woke up shortly before sundown to eat dinner and then they all gathered in front of the Master's chamber.

“It is time for you to get the mark of the brotherhood,” the Master told them. The apprentices formed a circle around him and he started counting them out, as if they were children about to play a game that could only be played in teams of two. The first ones were Asahi and Noya. They left the mill without saying another word. Then came Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, Iwaizumi and Oikawa, Kinoshita and Narita, Ennoshita and Kageyama, and finally only Tanaka and Daichi were left.

“Before we go, we should take our blankets,” Tanaka suggested. Daichi had no idea what they were supposed to do, but he followed the senior journeyman outside without asking any questions. If he'd learnt anything up until now, it was that asking questions would never give him an answer. After they'd stuffed their blankets under their arms, they left the mill. Tanaka lead the way in silence. It had only been a couple months since Daichi had followed this trail in the other direction and arrived at the mill, but it felt like an eternity. For the first time, he thought about what had happened to Yachi and Hinata. Were they well? Did they miss him?

“Schwarzkollm,” Tanaka said, when they could see traditional Easter fires ahead of them. “We should avoid the village.”

“Okay.”

They left the path and went around the village instead. In the distance, Daichi could hear a choir singing the traditional songs of an Easter vigil.

“Where are we going?” he finally asked, when they had reached the other side of Schwarzkollm.

“We need to find a place where someone died a violent death,” Tanak explained, making Daichi's heart miss a beat.

“What?”

“When we get there, we'll light a small fire and spent the night there. We're not allowed to fall asleep. At dawn, we'll give each other the mark of the brotherhood and go back to the mill.”

“O-okay,” Daichi stuttered. What had he got himself into? “And... how do we find such a place?”

Tanaka laughed, but it sounded strained. “There are exactly twelve places like this around the mill and they are all marked by a wooden cross.”

“This is part of being a sorcerer?”

“Yes. It's not the happiest of professions,” Tanaka joked half-heartedly.

They walked up a hill in silence, until they reached a large tree with a wooden cross at its roots.

“Here, a man named Bäumel hanged himself. That's why we call this place, Bäumel's Death,” Tanaka explained and told Daichi to gather wood for their fire. After it was lit, they wrapped themselves in their blankets and leaned against the tree.

 

They'd spent most of the night in silence, until they heard the church bells ring at midnight.

“Bells...” Daichi wondered. He hadn't heard any since he'd come to the Koselbruch. And then he heard the choir again, this time a lot louder than before.

“Christ is risen! Hallelujah!” a clear voice sang alone.

“Christ is risen! Hallelujah!” the choir repeated after him.

Daichi remembered how he'd been part of a choir like that when he was younger. There was always a young man or woman to lead the youth of the village and they'd wander around the entire night until the sun rose again. Curiously, Daichi got up, and saw a bunch of children and youths walk along a path beneath them, carrying lanterns to light the way.

The leader appeared to be a young man with strikingly pale hair. He had a beautiful voice that carried far – perfect for his job.

“Sit down again,” Tanaka said. “They aren't supposed to see us.”

Embarrassedly, Daichi sat back down and adjusted his blanket. He was glad that Tanaka had thought of bringing them, because it was still rather chilly at night.

“Did any of the girls down there tickle your fancy?” Tanaka asked, the smile on his face not reaching his eyes. Daichi frowned at him.

“No.”

“One of the guys then?”

What the _fuck_? Daichi wanted to protest, but then he heard the leader start the next hymn. His voice was as sweet as an angel's, sending a shiver down Daichi's spine and heating up his cheeks.

“You wouldn't be the first one,” Tanaka assured him, shrugging. “It happens.”

Daichi simply turned to look at the fire. Just because he liked that guys voice, didn't mean he fancied him.

“Well, it doesn't matter either way...” Tanaka continued, his voice suddenly deeply serious. “I was in love with a girl once, you know... She was beautiful. I'd never seen a girl like her before. At first I was too shy to say a single word in her presence, but I would use every opportunity I got to go to Schwarzkollm and see her. One day, I managed to work up enough courage to talk to her and... Damn, I actually managed to woo her. Two weeks later she died.” Tanaka took a deep breath and shoved more wood into the fire. “They all die eventually. We're bad luck to the people that love us, Daichi. Should you ever fall in love with someone, make sure that the miller never gets wind of it. I don't know what exactly I did wrong, I just know that none of this would've happened, if I hadn't known her name.

“I'm not telling you not to fall in love. You can't control something like that. But should you ever fall for someone, don't ask for their name.”

Utterly speechless, Daichi stared at his friend. He would've never guessed that Tanaka was carrying such a burden on his shoulders. He hid it so well, under layers and layers of humour and silly behaviour.

“Death is always following us, wherever we go. Remember that, Daichi.”

 

Shortly before sunrise, Tanaka cut off two splints of wood and charred their tips in the fire.

“Do you know how to draw a drudenfuss?”

Daichi shook his head. Tanaka picked up a stick and drew a five pointed star on the ground with a circle around it. “Try it yourself.”

It took Daichi a couple of tries, but he got there eventually.

“Great.” Tanaka gave him one of the charred splints. “Now we'll draw the mark of the brotherhood on each other's foreheads while reciting the oath. Just repeat after me...”

Then he leaned over the fire and started drawing on Daichi's face.

“I mark you, Brother,

With coal from the wooden cross.

This is the mark of the secret brotherhood.”

Then it was Daichi's turn.

Afterwards they extinguished the fire, picked up their blankets and made their way back to the mill.

 

A yoke was hanging in the door frame, forcing the apprentices to bend their backs when they entered the mill, saying, “I yield to the yoke of the brotherhood.”

Once inside, the Master hit each of them across the right cheek. “Remember, that I am the Master!” he said while doing so. Then the apprentices had to bow three times and say, “I will obey my Master until the end of time.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daichi's first glimpse of Suga :)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://gilrael.tumblr.com).


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